2026 Women’s Heart Health Summit Agenda
Hear from one of the nation’s top cardiologists and heart health innovators on where women’s heart health stands today and where we need to take it next, together.
Artificial intelligence could transform women’s heart health, enabling earlier detection, sharper risk prediction, and more personalized care at scale. But AI is only as strong as the data behind it. In a field long shaped by male-dominated research, clinical trials, and leadership, women’s cardiovascular health and unique risks have been seriously overlooked. This panel will examine both the opportunity and the risk: how AI can drive real progress in women’s heart health equity — but only if it is built on inclusive data, gender-specific science, and a deliberate effort to close longstanding gaps in cardiovascular care.
Many women still aren’t aware of the direct connections between pregnancy and heart health. Cardiologist Simin Lee, CEO and Co-founder at Systole Health, will break down what every woman needs to know.
This panel brings together health plan leaders from diverse states to examine the distinct heart health challenges facing women in their populations. Panelists will explore both the differences and commonalities across regions, share strategies that are driving measurable improvements in outcomes, and discuss how targeted interventions can lower costs at the state level. With heart disease remaining the leading health risk for women nationwide, this conversation will spotlight what it takes to move the needle at scale.
Menopause is finally getting long-overdue attention, yet its impact on cardiovascular risk remains overlooked. This panel will explore why menopause represents a critical window for identifying and managing long-term heart health risk, and why traditional screening and prevention strategies often fall short for midlife women. Panelists will discuss what health plans and providers can do differently — from education to earlier risk detection — to ensure women’s hearts aren’t left out of the menopause moment.
Latina women face disproportionately high risks related to cardiovascular disease while often remaining overlooked in traditional heart health conversations, research, and care delivery models. From delayed diagnoses and under-recognized symptoms to barriers in preventive care, trust, language access, and culturally responsive education, the Latina heart health gap reflects broader inequities across healthcare systems and social determinants of health.
“Closing the Latina Heart Health Gap” will bring together leaders in community health, culturally grounded care, and health innovation to explore practical strategies for advancing equity in cardiovascular health for Latina communities. Panelists will discuss the importance of culturally responsive outreach, trusted community partnerships, health literacy, technology-enabled solutions, and community-centered models of care that better meet women where they are.
Through perspectives spanning grassroots advocacy, digital health innovation, and community empowerment, the conversation will examine what it will take to build more equitable systems of prevention, diagnosis, engagement, and long-term support for Latina women. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of the challenges shaping Latina heart health outcomes and actionable insights into how cross-sector collaboration can help close these gaps.
- Advocacy Workgroup | Making women’s heart health a national priority
Led by: Liz Powell, G2G Consulting & Women’s Health Advocates - Clinical Workgroup | Increasing representation of women in cardiology and in clinical leadership
Led by: Dr. Malissa Wood, Women as One - Benefits Workgroup | Making the business case for women's heart health
Led by: Betsy Nota-Kirby and Lisa Comerose, Marsh McLennan Agency - Mental Health Workgroup | How protecting our mental health supports our heart health
Led by: Dr. Kiki Fehling, Psychologist, Author, and DBT Expert - Innovation Workgroup | Building technology to empower women in menopause
Led by: Michal Gutman and Wendy Nguyen, Hello Heart
When your job runs on deadlines, night shifts, and physical demands, “take care of your heart” can feel like advice written for someone else. This panel brings labor and health leaders together to talk honestly about how blue-collar work shapes cardiovascular risk, from disrupted sleep and recovery to higher rates of tobacco use and other risk behaviors. We’ll explore what resources workers and their families actually need, and why this conversation is urgent as more women enter traditionally male-dominated fields like construction—where recognizing women’s symptoms and risks can be the difference between brushing it off and getting care in time.
High-achieving women are often recognized for their resilience, competence, and ability to manage complexity—both professionally and personally. Many of these women also serve as the de facto Family Chief Medical Officer: coordinating care, navigating healthcare systems, interpreting medical information, and advocating for the health of their families. This presentation explores how high achievement, caregiving responsibility, and sustained stress intersect to influence women’s heart health. Drawing on public health research, healthcare system design, and lived experience, the session reframes caregiving and cognitive load as structural risk factors rather than personal shortcomings.
As funding for women’s health research and national initiatives face increasing uncertainty, the need for sustained focus on women’s cardiovascular health has never been greater. This discussion will examine how researchers, health systems, industry, and advocates can help safeguard progress, attract new investment, and ensure women’s heart health remains a national priority in the years ahead.